Vehicle-mounted cargo containers are often mounted within the cargo beds of pickup trucks to facilitate the stowage of luggage, blankets, tools and other selected articles. Indeed, due to the relatively limited amount of covered and/or enclosed space offered by most pickup trucks, such cargo containers are typically necessary to safely transport items without the risk of loss or theft, or damage due to environmental exposure.
However, despite the relative effectiveness of such vehicle-mounted containers, many such devices generally suffer from a common design flaw. More specifically, to permit rear access to the truck bed, cargo containers are typically mounted toward the forward end of the truck bed (i.e., closest to the truck cab), so as to not obstruct or otherwise inhibit rear access to the cargo area via the tailgate. Consequently, individuals wishing to access the cargo container are forced to either reach up and over the sidewalls of the truck bed or climb into the truck bed via the tailgate. This problem is further exacerbated due to the high ground clearance that is commonly associated with most trucks and off-road vehicles.
Accordingly, available wheeled truck boxes enable slidable movement of the cargo box between a stored position toward the forward end of the truck bed, and a tailgate position toward the rear end of the truck bed. Such conventional sliding truck box assemblies typically comprise a storage container having a plurality of wheels that are slidably engaged and supported between a set of tracks, wherein the tracks are installed on opposing inner sidewalls of the truck bed.
Unfortunately, however, despite the ability of wheeled truck boxes to alternate between stored and tailgate positions, wheeled truck boxes also suffer from several structural defects. For instance, wheeled truck boxes disadvantageously have a tendency to unexpectedly roll or shift, such as, for example, when the vehicle is positioned on an incline and/or when the vehicle is accelerated or decelerated abruptly. In addition to the danger imposed on the driver and passengers, uncontrolled rolling or movement of large storage receptacles may lead to damage or destruction of the truck, the cargo and/or surrounding vehicles. As such, locking mechanisms are often required to restrain movement or otherwise secure the truck box in place. Inconveniently, however, such locking mechanisms must be unlocked prior to movement of the truck box and locked prior to transit of the vehicle.
Moreover, without the assistance of external forces, such as gravity or inertia, it may be difficult to slide truck boxes carrying heavy cargo loads. Thus, the arduous task of manually sliding a large and heavy storage bin within a truck bed can impart significant physical strain on an individual, even with the assistance of wheels. Moreover, such a task may compel the individual to climb into the bed of the truck, thereby offsetting one of the intended purposes of the wheeled truck box.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for an automated or motorized vehicular cargo box that can be effortlessly moved between stored and tailgate positions. Moreover, there is a need for such a vehicular cargo box that will not uncontrollably and unexpectedly roll or shift within the truck bed.